Jack Black May Return In Voice Only For ‘Goosebumps: Slappy’s Revenge’ Plus Character And Plot Reveals

It seems as though Jack Black may return for ‘Goosebumps: Slappy’s Revenge’, but in voice only. Black appeared in the flesh in the first ‘Goosebumps’ film as a fictionalized version of writer R.L. Stine, but also voiced the film’s main ghoul, Slappy the ventriloquist dummy, even though he was uncredited. The latest report about the sequel indicates that Black will return to voice Slappy, but there is no mention of him portraying Stine.

It also appears that the youthful cast is being completely replaced. The synopsis mentions that the protagonists in ‘Slappy’s Revenge’ are a 17-year-old named Sarah, her brother Sonny and his best friend Sam. The first film featured Dylan Minnette (’13 Reasons Why’) as Zach, Ryan Lee (‘Brockmire’) as Champ and Odeya Rush (‘Lady Bird’) as Stine’s daughter Hannah. This is the synopsis for ‘Slappy’s Revenge’:

Three friends must stop Slappy the dummy from starting the Halloween apocalypse.

There is also a mention of Nikola Tesla, but it isn’t clear how he factors in.

The first film was well-received, but not a massive blockbuster. It looks as though Sony might be cheaping out a bit with this new installment, using just Black’s voice and a cast of unknown youngsters. The new film is due to begin production in February to be released this October, which is quite a crunch, but it could work if the film isn’t too elaborate and doesn’t require much post-production. It appears that the script is ready to go, though, so that helps. Ari Sandel is attached to direct.

‘Slappy’s Revenge’ was previously known as ‘Goosebumps: Horrorland’ and was based in a haunted theme park. But opening on the exact same October 12 date this fall, is Lionsgate’s ‘Hellfest’ an adult-targeted slasher flick ALSO set at a theme park. It’s unclear if ‘Hellfest’ caused Sony to switch gears, but it is known that they had a couple of different ‘Goosebumps’ sequel scripts in the works.

For now, ‘Goosebumps: Slappy’s Revenge’ is due to be released on October 12, but that may change thanks to this prolonged period of pre-production.

Jason Motes

Jason's earliest memory is of watching 'Batman,' followed shortly by a memory of playing Batman & Robin with a friend, which entailed running outside in just their underwear and towels as capes. When adults told them they couldn't run around outside in their underwear, both boys promptly whipped theirs off and ran around in just capes. Jason's father gamely agreed to read him comic books as bedtime stories instead of 'Snow White.' (Super Friends being his favorite.) Jason saw all of the original Star Wars movies (and Indiana Jones and Superman and Star Trek...) in the theaters. Yes, he is old. And grew up in the most GEEKTASTIC decade ever, the 80s, devouring a steady diet of GI Joe, Transformers, Masters of the Universe, Princess of Power and (best of all) Jem! (It totally counts as sci fi! They had a sentient computer that projected holograms!) Jason has studied literature, journalism, film history and has a degree in creative writing (and a minor in psychology) from the University of South Alabama. He has worked as a technical writer and proofreader. These days, most of his creative energy goes into his blog and writing for this site! He lives with the cutest puppies ever.